Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 4
Modeling: A Million to One
So far, you've become familiar with Blender's interface, and moved and animated some simple objects. If
you want to create your own scenes—which, let's face it, reading this topic if you weren't interested in
that would be silly—you'll need to learn to create custom objects. While there are some specialty object
types, by far the most commonly used is the mesh model. In this chapter, we'll look at several approaches
to mesh modeling: polygon by polygon, tools based, box, and with modifiers. Before we actually model
anything, let's learn the terminology and basics.
The Building Blocks of Mesh Modeling
When Blender renders your final image, it breaks up every surface into triangles. A triangle is the simplest
object that can have a visible surface, and it is also the shape toward which decades of computer scientists
have dedicated their efforts in order to quickly transform and draw. If you're a computer, triangles are
where it's at. It should come as no surprise then that triangles will be the building blocks of your mesh
model.
Figure 4.1 shows several objects in the 3D view, with their mesh structure visible. The object on the left
is a simple triangle. The edges of the triangle are called, officially, Edges. The points that you can see
where the edges meet are called Vertices. If you have only one, it is a Vertex. The triangular surface that
those vertices and edges make up is called a Face. Vertices and edges will never show up in a render, only
faces will. But in order to have faces, you need to have accompanying edges and vertices.
If you've ever seen a finished model like the one on the right in Figure 4.1 , you might be thinking, “That
must have taken forever!” I guarantee you that the artist did not do it by placing each and every vertex,
edge, and face by hand. Blender has tools that allow the mass manipulation of these structures to simplify
your life as a modeler.
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